Jesus Enters Jerusalem like a King
1Jesus and his followers reached the outskirts of Jerusalem. When they came to the village of Bethphage [1] on the slopes of the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two of his disciples ahead. 2Jesus told them, “Go into the next village. As soon as you get there you’ll see a donkey and its colt tied up. Untie them and bring them to me. 3If anyone says anything to you about this, just tell them, ‘The Lord needs them.’ He’ll let you have them right away.”4This happened to fulfill something the prophet predicted, 5“Tell the people of Jerusalem, [2]
‘Look. Here’s your king.
He comes in peace, riding on a donkey.
He comes with a colt too, the foal of a donkey.’ [3] 6So the disciples went ahead and did what Jesus told them to do. 7They brought back the donkey and the colt, then saddled them with their cloaks. Jesus rode them. [4] 8A crowd gathered quickly and spread their cloaks on the road to pave the way for Jesus. Others quickly cut branches from trees and paved the road with them. 9Crowds surrounded Jesus and followed him shouting,
“Save us, [5] Son of David!
Here comes the one God approved. [6]
Hallelujah [7] to high heaven!”
Jesus Cleans House in the Temple
12Jesus went to the Temple. When he got there, he started chasing out everyone who was doing business there, people buying and selling products. He flipped the tables of people who provided currency exchange services, [8] and he knocked over the chairs of merchants selling doves. [9] 13He told them, “It’s written, ‘My house will be a place to pray, but you’re making it a place to steal.’” [10]14Sick people started coming to him at the Temple, people who were blind and crippled. He healed them. 15The top priests and the scholars known as scribes watched Jesus as he did these wonderful things. They stood there listening as even the children started cheering him on, “Save us, Son of David!”
The priests and scholars grew livid. 16They confronted Jesus and said, “Hey, can’t you hear what they’re saying?”
Jesus said, “Sure. Haven’t you read, ‘Even the children and the nursing babies will praise you’?” [11]
17Jesus left Jerusalem and went to Bethany [12] where he spent the night.
That Cursed Fig Tree
18The next morning, as Jesus was walking back to Jerusalem, he got hungry. 19He saw a fig tree by the road and went over to see if there was anything he could eat. He didn’t find anything except leaves. So he told the tree, “I don’t want you ever to produce fruit again!” Instantly, the fig tree withered and died.20When the disciples saw this, it staggered them. They said, “Wow! How could the fig tree wither away that fast?”
21Jesus said, “I’m telling you the truth, if you have faith and you don’t doubt, you’ll not only be able to do what you saw me do to that fig tree but you will be able to say to this mountain, ‘Rise and drop yourself into the sea.’ Then get ready for the splash because what you said is going to happen. 22Whatever you ask for when you pray, you’ve got to believe you’ll get it. And if you do believe, you’ll get it.”
Jewish Leaders Challenge Jesus
23When Jesus got to the Temple, the leading priests and Jewish elders interrupted him when he was teaching. They asked, “Who gave you permission to do this? And what exactly did they tell you you’re supposed to do?”24Jesus said, “I’ll tell you what. I’ll ask you one question. If you answer that question for me, then I’ll tell you where I got the authority to do what I’m doing. 25John baptized people. Where did he get that idea? Did it come from God in heaven, or did it come from humans on earth?”
The Jewish leaders talked among themselves about this. They said, “If we say John got his authority from heaven, he’ll say, ‘Then why didn’t you guys believe him?’ 26And if we say John got his authority from humans, the crowd might turn on us because they think John was a prophet.” 27So they told Jesus, “Sorry, but we don’t know.”
And Jesus said to them, “Well, then, sorry, but I don’t know why I should tell you where I get my authority.”
Parable of Two Sons, One Good and One Good for Nothing
28Jesus said, “What you think about this? A man has two sons. He went to the first one and said, ‘Son, I want you to go out and work in the vineyard today.’29“The son answered, ‘No, I can’t do that today.’ But he later changed his mind and went out and worked in the vineyard.
30“The man went to his second son and said the same thing. The son said, ‘Yes, sir, I’ll do that.’ But he didn’t do that. 31Which of those two sons did what the father wanted?”
The Jewish leaders answered, “The first son.”
Jesus said, “Gentlemen, I’m telling you the truth. Tax collectors and prostitutes will get into the kingdom of God before you do! 32John the Baptist came to show you how you can live your life in a righteous way that would make God happy and proud of you. You didn’t believe him. But tax collectors and prostitutes did. You saw what John did with your own eyes. But you didn’t believe what you saw, and you refused to change your way of thinking.”
Farmers Who Murdered Their Boss’s Son
33Jesus said, “I’ve got another parable for you, so listen up. A landowner planted a vineyard. He put a fence around it. He dug a hole and made a winepress there. He built a watchtower for guarding it. Then he rented sections of the vineyard to sharecroppers and left on a trip. 34When it was time to harvest the grapes, he sent his servants to the tenants to collect his share of the crop.35“The sharecroppers decided not to share. They grabbed the servants and worked them over. They severely beat one of them. They stoned another. They killed a third one.
36“The landowner sent a larger group of servants the next time. But they got the same treatment that the first group got. 37This time, the landowner sent his son. He said, ‘Surely they’ll show some respect to my son.’
38“But that’s not how the sharecroppers reacted. They saw the son and schemed among themselves saying, ‘Hey, this guy is going to inherit the vineyard. How about we kill him and keep the vineyard ourselves?’ 39Sounded like a good idea, so they grabbed him, escorted him off the property, and killed him good and dead.
40“So let me ask you something. When the owner of the vineyard gets back from his trip, what do you think he’ll do to those sharecroppers?”
41The Jewish leaders said, “He’ll give those sorry souls a good reason to be sorry. He’ll kill them good and dead. And he’ll rent the vineyard to sharecroppers who will actually share the crop with him.”
42Jesus said, “Have you ever read this in the Bible?
“‘The stone that the builders said wasn’t good enough to use
has now become the most important stone of all: the cornerstone.
The Lord is the architect.
And what he has produced is a beautiful sight to see.’ [13]
45When the top priests and the Pharisees heard these parables of Jesus, they figured out that he was talking about them. 46They weren’t happy about that. They wanted to arrest him right then. But they were afraid of doing it because they could see that the crowds thought he was a prophet.
